Wasting Time
by Angelic Misery
Summary: It's been two years since the fall of Deepground, and a year ago Vincent Valentine disappeared without a trace, missing everyone's birthday and pissing off Yuffie. Everyone else fears the worse,but when the unexpected happens, all h*ll will break loose.
1. Chapter 1

Wasting Time

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, wish I did, but I don't. T.T

Warning: Slight Shonen-Ai, cursing from Cid, and violence....lots and lots of violence.

Summary: It's been two years since Vincent defeated Deepground, and now he's disappeared, and missed everyone's birthday. Well, Yuffie isn't happy about this, and intends to let him know. Problem is, no one's seen him, and the gang is starting to assume the worst....

A/N: Well, this is my first online published story, though I've been writing them in notebooks in class for years. Please tell me what you think...it'll help! I've played DoC, the original Final Fantasy VII, and seen the movie, but I'm not real great at being serious, so poor Vince might be slightly OOC, I apologize for this.

Chapter 1.

_One year ago..._

Vincent reholstered his gun, no emotion in his eyes. _Another job done,_ he reminded himself as the body slumped to the floor. He turned away, cape swishing through the air with the movement. For a brief second, a smile flashed across his face as Kalm came into view, then was replaced by a frown, as his phone began to ring. He looked at it, and sighed, with a glance to his pocket, and then to the town, "I'm sorry, Yuffie." he mumbled as he turned in the opposite direction.

_Now...._

"Ugh! I swear! If he- oooh!" Yuffie stomped around the bar in a particularly sour mood, she was turning twenty-one, and once again, the odd, quiet gunman was missing. "Oh man, when I see him, I'm gonna-" she waved her fist in the air, cursing the man's name. "He didn't even stop by to say hello last year!" she grumped, flopping into a booth, arms crossed. She mumbled harshly all the things she would do to him when he got back, stomping her boot on the floor. The bar was closed right now, so it was her, Tifa, and a few of the other members of AVALANCHE, and the other members were tired of her incessant ranting. But it was Cid who opened his mouth first, "Hey brat, shut yer f***in mouth! If the d*mn vamp wants t' show up, he will! I mean it's not like he f***in likes these d*mn parties! And how d' we know he's not..." Yuffie looked up, sicking out her tongue and cutting him off, "Shut up Old Man! What do you know?! He didn't miss your birthday last year! And he's not dead!" She ran off, and down the street, forcing herself not to cry, _Ninjas don't cry, ninjas don't cry!_ she told herself. Tifa looked at him with a tired look, "Way to go, Cid." she mumbled quietly before returning to wiping down the counter. "How was I suppose t' f***in know she'd go runnin' off?" he asked in exasperation. Tifa groaned, "Because," she started, frustrated, "You told her Vince might be...well...dead..." Cid pulled out another cigarette, "Ya know ya think it, too! Ever'one does! He's never been gone this f***in long, he probably got f***in tired of those damn demons and put a f***in bullet in his head!" he grumbled. "God d*mn that vamp!" he cursed, chewing angrily on the butt of the unlit cigarette.

Yuffie ran down the street for what seemed like forever, until she ran into Marlene, who was running down the street, grin plastered across her face. Yuffie rubbed her head, "Ow! Hey watch it!" she scolded, until she saw it was Marlene, "Oh sorry Marlene, I'm in a bad mood." she apologized, and helped Marlene up, "So what's up?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. "Guess who's back?! Come on! Guess!" Yuffie looked at her, and thought back, Denzel had gone to a school in Edge, and Vincent was...well she didn't know where he was, but she knew she was mad at the him. "Um...Denzel?" she asked, deciding Vincent wouldn't make Marlene smile that much, even though they got along rather well. Marlene shook her head quickly, "Nope!" she sang, and ran off...Yuffie's eyes went wide at **who** Marlene dragged back with her. She crossed her arms and turned away, and she could hear him sigh, "Marlene, Yuffie and I need to talk...." he whispered in the ear of the eleven-year-old. She nodded and ran off towards the bar, "Seeya Vince!" she called, still grinning. When she was gone, Vincent put his hand on Yuffie's shoulder, "Yuffie?"he asked softly. "You think you can miss my birthday last year, disappear for a year and comeback and me be happy to see you?!" she suddenly rounded on him, the back of her hand connecting with his cheek. "Well you've got another thing comin'!" she yelled at him. He looked away, "I didn't miss it on purpose...." he sighed, "I was heading here to Kalm, when well, your father called me..." he looked down, "Well, I had to go, and well..." he told her what Godo had told him, and her eyes widened further, "He wants me to do WHAT?!" she yelled, jaw dropping.....

A/N: Well there's first chapter...I decided to keep you guys wondering on what Yuffie has to do...I think it'll surprise you all.

Cid: D*mn straight it will!

Vincent: ....


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the long wait, been busy and yet i still do not own Final Fantast VII, come on guys, i just want four characters!!! Cid, Vincent, Seph, and Yuffie is all I want, please?! * make puppydog eyes at the creator of the characters* pwease?! *is slapped in the head by Cid* 'Stop begging ya brat'

Oh btw, there's a lot of storming around, angry fights, and cursing in the first paragraph. Oh and i don't know if Vince is Wutain it just seemed to fit. Enjoy!  
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Chapter 2.

Yuffie couldn't stop cursing from the moment she heard Vincent mumble those dreaded words, to the time he appeared in her room with that stone-cold mask hiding every emotion that played across his face. She stomped around, ignoring him, as she had done for the past hour and a half, grumbling and flipping a certain finger at imaginary Godos. She could not believe that Vincent had said that, until finally she ran into him. "Stop pacing," he commanded, and pulled her onto the bed next to him. She opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by one of his wicked-looking claws placed against her mouth. "He gave you two options you know," he reminded her. "I know! But, what if I don't want either?!" she jumped up, he still had his mask on, and she was tired of it. She was almost ready to slap him across the face, lecture him, and then find away out of her latest problem with being the princess of Wutai. To her surprise, the mask melted away, but she was still left with the eerie calm that seemed to follow Vincent Valentine around like a clingy shadow. She grimaced and turned away, ignoring him again like a stubborn child. "Yuffie, why are you being so difficult?" she could barely hear him as he walked up behind her, _He must have taken off his shoes...._she thought quickly, and noticed only Wutains took off thier shoes at the door. She whirled, shock plastered across her features, "Vincent! Are you Wutain?!" He nodded slightly, and sat in the chair next to her, "I was, to an extent...." he glanced at the ceiling, face again unreadable. Yuffie almost couldn't stop bouncing until the cryptic message sunk in, "Was? Whaddya mean Vince?" His hard look gave her an idea very quickly of what he meant, "Oh gawd Vince! Stop with the, 'I'm not human' bullshit! We've already spent an entire year thinking you had finally had it with those damn demons and kissed the business end of your gun goodbye! We don't need anymore stress! Your about to give the old man a coronary, I swear!" she ranted on about how each friend had slowly begun to lose hope as the months progressed, and how if he hadn't showed up today, she probably would have stopped watching for the taletell red and gold glimmer also, "Even Red lost faith in you!" she yelled. "And he's almost as old as you are!" she emphasized on that point to draw his attention to the fact that, despite the few minor flaws, she did like Vincent. He held up his hand, and she stopped, not because he was asking her to, but because of the sheer rage on his face. She stumbled backwards, "Uh...Vince? Y...you know I was only trying to make a point, right? No hard feelings?" she fell onto the bed with a squeak and scooted into the corner as far as she could squeeze herself. For once, she felt it was okay to be completely and utterly terrified of the raven-haired, demonic gunman. She swallowed anxiously, and shrunk into the corner even further. "Vince? Vincent? Vinnie?" she tried everything to calm him before he turned her into a broken ninja toothpick, and then had more to blame himself for. He snarled angrily, "What right do you have to judge me?! I joined this group to right what I had wronged, my job is finished!" he almost punched the wall, but thought better of the barkeeper downstairs and controlled it. "Who are you to tell me something I don't already know?! If I choose a peaceful end to my life, damn it, I want a peaceful end!" he instead slammed his hand onto the matress of the bed, making it groan and squeak, "I have lived my life, Yuffie Kisaragi, and quite frankly, if I knew you weren't going to take the second option, I would kiss the business end of Cerberus!" he roared it at her, and the only response she could muster was a frightened sob. She launched herself at him, clinging to his waist, begging him not to go, not to make Cerberus's last shot a kiss of Death. She sobbed uncontrollably into his cape, pleading, clinging to him like a lifeline, "I was never judging you, Vincent! I just wanted you to know that you were miss when you left!" She pulled him with her onto the bed, and curled up near him. "I don't want you to go!" she whined, snaking her arms up to be just under Vincent's arms. The fire that had burned in his eyes softened, and he tenderly returned her embrace, "I won't leave Yuffie, not yet." he assured her, resting his chin on her head.....

Yufie woke up in the morning with a headache, as she always did, until something alerted her that something was different, and when she breathed in and opened her eyes, she smelled gunmetal, gunpowder, a little sweat, and...she smelled again, cologne? He eyes almost popped out of her head when her semi-conscious brain figured it out. "Uh Vince?" she wiggled out of his grip and almost started laughing and jumping around, at the thought that although not in the sense everyone would take it as, she had broken into Vincent's cold, and seemingly black heart, and slept with him. She almost couldn't contain it as she skipped down the steps, a grin plastered across her face. Tifa saw her as she pranced to her seat at the bar, beaming. Tifa's eyes narrowed suspisciously, "Okay. Whose materia did you steal?" "No one's!" Yuffie exclaimed happily, and began to hum and dance in her seat. Tifa pulled her into a back room, "Hey, I heard yelling last night, Cloud heard what Vincent said, about Cerberus.....you alright, he didn't hurt you, did he?" Yuffie rolled her eyes and retorted sarcastically, "No mom. I have common sense enough to stay away from a pissed off Vincent." Tifa groaned, and then her eyes lit up, "So what happened after Vincent exploded like that? There's bound to be some reason you're so happy!" she whispered excitedly. Yuffie nodded her head, quite excitedly, "Well after he went off, I begged him to stay, you know how I feel about him!" Tifa nodded, she was the only one who knew, unless Vincent read minds or had assumed it by how much she wanted to be near him. "This is embaressing, cause you know how I'm always says I'm afraid of nothing, I don't cry, none of that?" Tifa nodded, she knew all too well. "Well I was terrified of him when he exploded like that, sobbed uncontrollably in his arms, and begged him not to go because I knew he wasn't joking. I knew he'd do it." she paused, grinning even more than she had when she came downstairs, "Well I pulled him with me and we fell into the bed and.." Tifa cut her off with a sharp, "Yuffie!" Yuffie waved her hands, "No, no! Let me finish! It was nothing like that! But I did get to curl up in his warm arms all night, he didn't even move! Oh my gawd, and he smells really good!" she kept raving over her whole experience that night in detail, "And that's what happened that made me so happy. I got emotion out of Mr. Stone-Cold Statue!" she giggled and ran out of the room, leaving Tifa giggling. She followed, but walked instead with a 'I-know-something-you-don't-know!' smile plastered to her face. Tifa watched Vincent with amused eyes as he followed Yuffie from the bar, until she took a double take, no cloak, normal boots, and she glanced at his left hand, and her eyes nearly popped, no claw, he wore instead a crisp white shirt with a long black jacket that covered Cerberus, a pair of new looking combat style boots, and normal black jeans. He had removed the bandanna from his head, and instead had pulled back his hair into a neat low-lying ponytail. His eyes seemed to be more amber-hued today, and not an ounce of leather, save his belt, holster, and boots, was visible. He looked like a normal person, and he even had a soft grin curving the edge of his lips. Cloud never noticed Vincent as he passed by silently, but looked worried as he searched for the red-caped gunman. Tifa giggled, and decided she would tell later. No one seemed to notice the new Vincent as he slipped out the door, or if they did they hid it very well. Vincent shot her a thankful smile, know she knew. She nodded back and Cloud approached her, "Vincent is usually up by now, you don't think he.." Cloud trailed of at Tifa's smiling shake of the head, "Actually, he walked right past you. It's amazing how silent he is in those boots." her smile showed she knew more than she was telling. Cloud shook his head, "I watched the people that went out the door and came in, all i saw were the normal patrons, and a guy in a black jacket! Vincent..was... he trailed off again, watching as Tifa's smile grew bigger, "He was the guy with the black jacket, wasn't he?" Cloud realized as two chocobos warked and thier footsteps became a distant patter. Tifa nodded and smiled, "Uh huh, and by the sounds of it, you missed your chance to worry over him." she laughed, and went back to wiping the counter. cloud grimaced and sat back down, looking like a pouty kid

Yuffie sighed, "Well, since I have absolutely no intention of getting married," she frowned at the first choice, "I'll simply have to hide out with you until it's safe." she frowned at that one, too, though it was better than getting married to keep those stupid uprisers from killing her and forcing a new ruler onto the throne. She thought about what Vincent had told her in her ear earlier yesterday...

_"Yuffie," he whispered, "You are in terrible danger." She snorted, 'What else was new?' He rolled his eyes at the snort of sarcasm, and continued, "There have been some extremist uprisings in Wutai, I was called there to deal with them, but I can't get rid of all of them. They say that a male ruler should be placed on the throne, instead of you, and to stop you from ever taking the throne, they want to kill you. After Godo dies, they will place another ruler over Wutai, and...." he shook his head, "You don't want to know the rest...." he had murmered. "Godo gave you two choices, either go to Wutai and be married so they can not kill you without breaking half a dozen laws and traditions, or hide out with his chosen bodyguard until it is safe." She gulped, "Wh...who did he choose as my bodyguard?" she asked timidly. He smiled, "Me." she sighed and shook her head, That's, wait...He wants me to do WHAT?!_

Her memories ended as her chocobo ground to a stop, and she opened her eyes to see three men on the road blocking thier way and Vincent looking none too happy too see them......  
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A/N: Wow! Well here's the next chappie, tell me what you thhink and I bet you didn't Vincent sudden change coming did ya? Ha ha! Stay on your toes! More to come most likely....tomorrow! Yay for updates! *flashes peace sign and runs away*


	3. Chapter 3

Meant to update yesterday

Still own nada...except the Sleipnirs...they are mines! Yus!  
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Chapter 3.

Vincent glowered at the men, and then relaxed as he saw something flash. One of the men guestured for them to dismount and brought a small flute to his lips. Vincent raised an eyebrow and was off his personal black chocobo and had told it to leave before the man could even start to play. It gave him a reproachful look but did as it was told, nonetheless, Yuffie was not as quick. Her blue chocobo had just barely left when the man finished, and a scream rent the air. The thundering of hooves sounded over the small plains as two enormous horse-like creatures with a pair of enormous wings tucked behind them raced to the men, rearing with another ear-peircing whinny. One, the mare, trotted to Yuffie, who stumbled back, watching the enormous creature's fearsome bloodred horn. Two claws curved around each leg like bull's horns, just above the hoof on the joint. She glanced at the size of the hoofprints paling as she saw that each hoof was nearly the size of a small dinner plate. The creature itself stood almost as high as Vincent at the shoulder, and atop the long, arching neck, sat a graceful equine head, though this horse would've made any other horse look like a miniature pony. It's beautiful, almond-shaped eyes were the same Mako carmine that Vincent's were, and she could see the intelligence shining in them. The hooves and claws were a similar color to the bloody horn, and the pelt was as black as midnight. White flecks dappled the beauty, despite her terrifying stature, she held a impossible grace and air about her. Her mane was Just as black and her wings looked like she had flown to the stars and back, catching shards of stars in her feathery wings. The one that approached Vincent, the stallion, was mahogany red, with black brindle striping his enormous hide. Everything else but his eyes was black as night, and it seemed as though he'd been to Oblivion and back. Yuffie giggled at the unintended pun, Vincent **had** been to Oblivion and back. The creature's eyes were mako blue, like Cloud's and shone with much more intelligence. She giggled again, a horse looked smarter than Cloud! She was interrupted by a snort as the black mare stared down at her, nibbling gently on her arm with her lips. She almost screamed, and the laughed as the creature nuzzled her cheek and blew a gentle, surprisingly sweet smelling breath and then nuzzled again. Yuffie blew a gentle breeze back, and hugged the soft, velvety nose nudging her. The creature snorted, blinked and lifted her effortlessly onto in a small dip between her wings and her neck, presenting her long glimmering fangs to anyone who approached Yuffie. One of the men laughed, "Seems you've made a friend of Anarchy, odd, she doesn't like anyone." Anarchy snorted and reached her head around to be petted, nickering gently when Yuffie complied. Vincent had not revealed to anyone the new glove he wore to replace the gauntlet. It seemed normal, but hidden beneath the black leather was a skeletal structure that when her put a certain pressure on it, four deadly blades unsheathed themselves and became similar to his claws. He approached the other, holding his bare hand out . The creature, called a Sleipnir, he'd been told, sniffed and then bowed, which although it took him by surprise, he was told it was not unheard of and to bow back in respect. He bowed, as he would to a Wutain, and waited for the gentle popping and snort that told him the Sleipnir respected him as a friend and as a master of sorts. He looked up from the curtain of hair that shielded his face and frowned. _Did the Sleipnir not respect him?_ He almost stood when the popping and a gentle snort passed through his hair, he looked up, and smiled out of relief. The Sleipnir, whose name was Soldier, nickered and pressed his shoulder to Vincent's and looked at him. Vincent pushed back with a smile, and heard a small thump as Yuffie slid to the ground behind him and then stiffened as she stumbled into him. "Anarchy!" he heard her scold and turned. Anarchy had pushed the slight girl and she had grabbed onto him to stop from falling, he smiled and shook his head, he grunted as Soldier pushed him. The two Sleipnirs were not seeming to snicker as they pushed the two together anytime they broke apart. Yuffie was bright red, and she was rapidly trying to apologize to the gunman who'd turned his face away to keep her from seeing he was inches from laughing. Yuffie desperately tried to scramble onto Anarchy, who shrugged her mighty shoulder and sent her right back into the gunman's arms. Yuffie breathed in shock, and caught his smell, gunpowder and gunmetal, a faint trace of cologne, and the musky scent she'd begun to associate with all men. She blushed harder, she had never realized someone like him could ever smell so good....and she tried to tuck her face into the offending Sleipnir. Her short glossy fur was soft and sleek, not like the downy feathers of a chocobo but a different kind of soft. The Sleipnir herself had a rich, spicy scent, like sandalwood. she gently slapped at the mare's shoulder and tried again to climb onto the mountain of a creature. Anarchy allowed it with a disappointed snort, but from her high perch, Yuffie thought she could see a smile on Vincent's face, but was distracted by a movement at the back of her Sleipnir and turned to investigate. Two men were tightening a strap onto the patient Anarchy's stomach a little behind her wings. They fastened two packs, one on either side and tightened them up so the contents would not spill from aerial acrobatics. By the time Yuffie looked back, Vincent was on Soldier, and all traces of a smile had disappeared. They were hooking Soldier up similarly, and Vincent just watched with faint curiosity on his face. Yuffie never noticed the man slap Ana's flank until she lunged foward, hooves pounding into the ground, and screamed loudly. Vincent watched with amusement, as the young ninja bolted foward with a scream and almost couldn't contain the laugh that was building in his chest, almost. He leaned foward as Soldier lurched foward, and heard a faint laugh, his laugh, as he and Soldier thundered down the plains and into the crisp, salty, sea air. Anarchy hovered, enormous wings barely moving to keep the mare airborne, waiting for the two. Vincent though he saw the red-eyed mare roll her eyes, and quickly contained the excitement from the wild ride. Yuffie, however, saw the smile, and urged Anarchy into a race. "Hey Vince! Race ya!" she annouced with an excited holler. He barely had time to react before Soldier launched himself foward, in a neck-to-neck race with Ana.

"What do you f***in mean, I just f***in missed him!?" Cid yelled at the chocobo-headed blonde. Cloud sighed, rolled his eyes and responded dully, "I mean, he and Yuffie left this morning, I even missed him. Only Teef saw the guy leave." Cid was in an even fouler mood than normal, the bar's owner, Tifa Lockheart, had banned smoking while Marlene was around, and so far, Cid had only had four cigarettes the entire day, as opposed to his normal of at least a pack a day, and on stressful days, sometimes a pack an hour. He grumbled and stomped out of the bar, lighting a cigarette as he left, "F***! Well, I'm gonna go f***in find his f***in worthless vampire *ss." Cloud just laughed, "Hate to break it to you Cid, but no one knows where they went." Shelke suddenly piped up in her monotonous voice, "I believe I have an idea of where they might be." Cid cursed, "F***! Well then, f***in spill it, brat!" Shelke rolled her eyes, "I believe they are headed to Avalon, where the Knights of the Round summon was found." she continued, "It is the hardest place to reach in all of Gaia, and therefore the most logical. However, as the had left on Sin and Blue, I am unsure of what they are riding now, they are moving much faster than even a gold chocobo, and..." she trailed off, "Sin and Blue returned to the chocobo stables half an hour ago, without Vincent and Yuffie." Cid cursed, "Sh*t! What's faster than a godd*mn gold chocobo, thos f***in' things are f***in' fast!" He cursed again and stomped away, Venus Gospel slung over his shoulder.

Yuffie collapsed on the beach on Avalon, laughing, "Come on Vince! Let's do that again!" The two Sleipnirs even threw thier large heads excitedly. Vincent, however, shook his head with a frown, and began to set up camp in a nearby cave. "Yuffie, we both need rest, it's late." He rolled his neck, sighing when he got the desired crackle. Yuffie unbuckled the stuff from Ana and set the near Vincent, "I think I'll feel safer sleeping on Ana's back....or near her..." he nodded and beckoned Soldier to lay closer to him. Yuffie laughed, and led Ana so she could lay under the mare's soft warm wing, in the safety of the curve of her neck, but near to Vincent and Soldier, just in case. Vincent watched her with his glowing golden-red eyes, a soft smile as he stroked the stallion behind him. He leaned back against the Sleipnir, eyelids drooping until a rustling in the bushes snapped his mind awake. With a growl, he stood, sliding his new glove onto his left hand, and his right sliding down to where Cerberus had remained holster. He snuck through the shadows, and lunged, grabbing the shirt of a man, exposed claws centimeters from the pulsing vein in his neck, Cerberus pressed to his temple. He growled as his eyes narrowed, the light too dim for him to make out the intruder, "Who are you? State your business!" His eyes flashed angrily in the dark as a familiar southern drawl answered weakly, "It's me, ya idiot! Get yer f***in claws off my neck and yer d*mn gun off my head!" Vincent dropped him, "Why are you here-" his sentence was cut short by a scream, Yuffie's scream.  
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And you'll have to wait til the next update...probably sometime next week...no promises, to find out why she screamed.


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